Skip to main content

Casio brings a Facebook friendly camera and an attempt at photo editing

Casio TRYX BlackCasio is taking advantage of the Facebook photo craze with its 2011 release. At CES today the camera manufacturer introduced the TRYX, an extremely flexible digicam built with self portraits in mind.

Casio executive Jin Nakayama debuted the camera this afternoon, and stressed how the device can capture images at virtually any angle. The TRYX has an extremely tiny body with a sturdy feel, and features a snap out and swivel frame that can be used as a handle for high-angled photos, a lean-to for timed group shots, or as a hook for taking photos while the camera itself is hanging. As far as hardware goes, the camera utilizes Casio’s EXILIM Engine HS, which the company developing in order for the device to process multiple operations simultaneously.

Recommended Videos

Casio TRYX WhiteThe TRYX also has HD filming options, a touch screen and touch shutter options, and motion sensor technology for triggering timed shots. Clearly built with immediate sharing in mind, the camera includes options for uploading to social media sites – a trend we’re seeing in a host of products at CES this year.

Casio didn’t stop at hardware, though. In 2011, it will also be presenting its Casio Imaging Square service, an online “digital craft” center for converting digital photos into art. Chairman and CEO of Casio America (and son of the founder) Kazuhiro Kashio explained Imaging Square, claiming the program’s image processor uses art conversion algorithms to create virtual paintings that allow users easy access to endless creativity. In reality, it’s the poor man’s PhotoShop. Various free photo editors include filters that accomplish or outdo Imaging Square’s function, there are even free apps for smartphones that can similar things with comparable results. Kashio stressed that Imaging Square means that “this process [of photo editing] no longer belongs to only a hundred people with special skills.” Even with the hyperbole, we think he’s underestimating the aptitude of most photographers.

Imaging Square will also include project storage and gallery options, extremely like those of Flickr, Picasa, or Kodak. The only innovative piece to this converter is that it’s also included on the TRYX, so without any PC work at all users are able to take “filtered” photos. Most photographers need to be a more crucial piece of the editing process, but novices who might want to skip to the end result will like the feature.

 

Image used with permission by copyright holder
Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
Apple’s secret Vision Pro controller suggests it’s finally taking VR gaming seriously
A person gaming on the Apple Vision Pro headset.

You would think that Apple’s Vision Pro headset would be the perfect platform for virtual reality (VR) gaming. After all, it has a top-notch processor, super-high-resolution displays, and both VR and augmented reality (AR) capabilities. In theory, that should make it a leading device for gamers.

The reality is, unfortunately, very different, with few popular gaming titles making it onto visionOS. And really, Apple’s headset is held back by one key weakness: its lack of proper VR controller support.

Read more
Big tech is dominating my digital life — here’s how I fixed it
big tech logos around capitol hill

Big tech companies are so dominant and so far-reaching right now that people could probably live their entire digital lives interacting only with Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon products. Things never got quite that bad for me but I did realize recently that I've been relying far too much on Google, plus I’ve been using Safari for years even though I don’t actually like it that much.

So I decided to find some new apps to try out and came across a nice resource full of European, open-source, or non-profit alternatives for a range of different services. It introduced me to quite a few apps that are more than good enough to replace what I was using, and although I’m not hardcore enough to completely kick Google out of my life, I’m pretty happy with the results.
What’s so bad about big tech?

Read more
Meta faces lawsuit for training AI with pirated books
A silhouetted person holds a smartphone displaying the Facebook logo. They are standing in front of a sign showing the Meta logo.

In a recent lawsuit, Meta has been accused of using pirated books to train its AI models, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's approval. As per Ars Technica, the lawsuit filed by authors including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sarah Silverman in a California federal court, cite internal Meta communications indicating that the company utilized the Library Genesis (LibGen) dataset—a vast online repository known for hosting pirated books—despite internal concerns about the legality of using such material.

The authors argue that Meta's actions infringe upon their copyrights and could undermine the company's position with regulators. They claim that Meta's AI models, including Llama, were trained using their works without permission, potentially harming their livelihoods. Meta has defended its practices by invoking the "fair use" doctrine, asserting that using publicly available materials to train AI tools is legal in certain cases, such as "using text to statistically model language and generate original expression."

Read more